Giant Snow Cat
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art of Japan
Description
A colossal white cat looms against a snow-laden landscape in one of Kuniyoshi's most immediately striking images. The animal's sheer scale relative to its setting creates a surreal, almost supernatural presence, consistent with Kuniyoshi's tendency to endow cats with a grandeur usually reserved for mythological creatures. This work exemplifies the artist's uniquely personal feline iconography, which ranged from affectionate domestic sketches to these monumental, almost totemic presences.
More Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Woman as the Hero Taisō in Palanquin Holding a Pipe
c. 1830
Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper
Yan Qing (Roshi Ensei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
Poem by Abe no Nakamaro, from an untitled series of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets
Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
More Snow Scenes Prints
Fair Weather After Snow at Yamato Bridge, Kyoto (Yamato bashi no yukibare), Taishô period, dated 1924
Woodblock print
The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Miyajima in Snow (Yuki no Miyajima)
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Snow at Shiha Park, Tokyo
1932
Woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Giant Snow Cat was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
Giant Snow Cat depicts snow scenes, animals, and cats.